Many people feel an intrinsic pull to spend time in nature, and this makes perfect sense. Your brain and body are largely hard-wired to sync with the laws of nature — the rise and fall of the sun and the changing of the seasons, for example — not with the 24/7 work-a-day world.

So it's no wonder that when our senses get to take in nature at its finest — the sounds of a babbling brook, the scent of lush earth in a forest preserve or even the sight of a green oasis, a park, in the middle of a city — it sets off a cascade of benefits within our bodies.

In the video above, Leif Haugen, a fire lookout in a remote corner of the Flathead National Forest in northwestern Montana, shares what it's like to live alone in nature, which is an experience many of us living in the 21st century will never have.

In a world where 70 percent of the population will live in urban areas by 2015 (and more than half already do),1 it's become increasingly important to understand the importance of nature's presence in our lives, as well as what happens if we're separated from it.